If you’re even thought about waiting tables at a Texas Roadhouse, a server with the chain restaurant documented four shifts she worked over the course of a week. The video might be enough to either encourage you or discourage you from working there, depending on your expectations.
The video was created by a TikToker named Hay on the @hhaylynn, generating more than 1.3 million views since going up on April 3. In it, she details four different shifts she worked at a Texas Roadhouse: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. The rundown includes what she wore to work, how busy it was on a given day, and how much she made each day.
“I have decided that this week I want to bring you guys along and tell you how much I make it a week as a Texas Roadhouse server,” she says by way of introduction.
The video highlights the inconsistency that servers encounter in any given shift.
@hhaylynn a week of working at texas roadhouse! #texasroadhouse #txroadhouse #server #fyp #foryou #notaminor ♬ original sound – hay
“I’m dead,” she said after a Saturday night shift that didn’t go as planned. “My throat hurts and I have no voice.” She goes on to explain, “I had a decently good section because I had one table that can be large party, and I had two large parties. One of the large parties tipped me good; the other one tipped me— like it was a $300 tab and they tipped me maybe $20 all together. It was bad. It was really bad.”
But as she worked through who paid her cash and who paid via credit cards, she also found herself surprised at the end of a couple of her shifts. Instead of a dismal payout, she discovered that she’d actually made more money than she thought she had—though, ultimately, her tip-based income depended on the whims of her customers.
She did try to affect the outcomes with some of the outfits she wore and some of the hairstyles she went with. She remarked, regarding the pigtails she chose to wear for her Thursday shift, “Every single time I wear my hair like this, I always make quite a lot of money and I need to make some money because I decided to go out yesterday and buy a new phone.”
All told, she made $801 for the four shifts, averaging about six hours out on the floor and an additional hour doing cleanup after her last customers left.
The video inspired some people to take up waiting tables—or, at least, to find a Texas Roadhouse to work for.
“Dawg u out here making me wanna go to Texas Roadhouse,” one remarked. “Made more in four days than I did in two weeks.”
“I work at Applebees and we’re moving and I’m thinking about applying at TR!” another said. “This made me excited.”
One was a little more cynical about the work, noting, “I worked in a restaurant for 3 years and I feel physical[ly] ill thinking about working in one again but I miss the fast cash.”
The video also created confusion for some about credit card tips vs. cash payments, and so the creator tried to clear up why she owes the restaurant money some days while the restaurant owes her money on other days.
@hhaylynn Replying to @lexii.bumm so tip ur servers cash pls #fyp #texasroadhouse #server ♬ original sound – hay
“I got those who are still confused,” someone responded in that video’s comments. “So we don’t use cash registers, we hold the money all night.”
Another chimed in with, “Basically, if you purchase a $50 meal and leave $70 on the table, she will pocket all $70. At the end of the night, all the unpaid (paid in cash) tickets get added up, and it will say she owes that $50 from the cost of your meal.”
But the comments in the video also revealed that not all Texas Roadhouses are equal, no matter how you get paid.
“When I worked at Roadhouse, I made like $80 on weeknights and maybe $140-180 on a weekend,” one remarked. “IDK how all of you are making so much OMG.”
“It’s gotta just be your location,” another remarked. “I’d say I average $140+ on weekdays, $200+ on weekends — when I actually try to be good lol.”
The Daily Dot reached out to the creator via TikTok comment and to Texas Roadhouse via email.
